Smile
by gigiree123
Summary: A taciturn business student and his "sciencey" friend have a chat over coffee about viral signal transduction...what happens after is simply a journey filled with smiles and lattes.


**A/n: So this is actually my first SasuSaku...umm they're really hard to write...It really is just a weird little oneshot based on the song Last Smile by Maeda June...an incredibly heartbreaking thing...**

**Reluctant is in progress...Transparent has a chapter in the works...Descriptions too..**

**Umm that's that, I guess. Please enjoy my first foray into the world of "Sasuke and Sakura Romance".**

**Smile**

He sat with an indiscernible look upon his face, his thin lips set into a straight line, dark eyes gazing intently at his chatty companion as they sat in the small coffee shop. Sasuke Uchiha was torn. He was torn because this girl was annoyingly talkative, though not as much as some of the other insipid female students at the University. His brows furrowed as she seemed to be completely unaware of his existence; but then again, Sakura was always like this when it came to her research.

He watched as her hands waved excitedly, her Cinnamon Dulce Cream Latté topped with a hearty serving of whipped cream and crushed almonds all but forgotten. His nose wrinkled in distaste at the cardboard cup overflowing with a sickening sweetness. This had been yet another foray into the "wonderful world of lattes" as she had so eloquently put it. Every time, she made a point to try a completely new, completely bizarre, and utterly pointless mélange of something that dared to call itself coffee.

He looked back at her, still as she spoke. Her green eyes were shining, vividly enticing as she continued in her explanation of what she loved so much. He liked that part the most. Because he really couldn't give a damn about the virus or its proteins or its genetic sequence; but he did care about the way those eyes would brighten with her intelligence and emotion. He did care about that soft, pink hair that slipped out of its haphazard bun to fall gently onto her pretty face. He cared about those pouty lips as they opened to explain and rant and bubble over with euphoria for any tiny new wonder, any little achievement.

"-but you know, the virus isn't responding at all to any of the proposed treatments and it's really very frustrating! I mean we blocked the signal transduction by knocking down the CD160 analogue gene in the mice, but that still didn't do anything. And somehow the damn thing bypassed the mechanism all in order to start the MPCK cascade, not to mention the adverse effects it had on the B-catenin of the cells!"

She finished, gasping slightly. Her cheeks were flushed and her silly latte had gone cold in the face of her heated utterances. She frowned as she looked at him, one finely shaped brow lifted as she noted the impassive look upon his stupidly, handsome face.

"You weren't listening were you?" She finally said, her tone wry and resigned.

"I'm a business major." He stated flatly, as if that could give him a free pass for simply tuning out her words.

She continued to glare at him and he looked down at her from behind his aristocratic nose, his lips turned up just the tiniest bit in the corner. His eyes seemed to lighten to a dark gray, and she blinked owlishly at him.

He was teasing her.

She huffed impatiently, tugging at the sleeve of her maroon sweater. He could see her lips flapping open ever so slightly, no sound coming out. He could almost hear the insults she was mouthing as she violently grabbed a hold of her latte and took a sip.

Unbeknownst to her, his gaze softened imperceptibly as she busied herself with her lukewarm drink. Sasuke noted that her cheeks were slightly flushed, possibly in response to their held gaze or maybe she really was just that annoyed with him.

He traced one long, elegant finger around the rim of his own coffee cup, the piquant aroma of his simple Americano pleasantly wafting towards him.

"So…internship interview today?" Came the unexpected question.

He nodded, his head tilted slightly. She understood him to be asking silently as to how she knew.

"You're wearing one of your white shirts and your tie is in the Windsor knot formation today, when you typically just use the Four-in-Hand knot." She answered smartly.

He blinked a little more rapidly, the only indication of his surprise. Then he quickly turned back to his coffee, taking a sip.

The silence stretched for a bit, and she could sense his accusation.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing…stalker." He coughed lightly into his cup, the sound muffled.

Her eyes widened and the blush became even more prevalent. She knew he was joking, but it was still a bit of a sensitive topic. For you see, they had known each other since middle school. Their close knit group of friends had been a constant presence in their lives, but it was only until high school when the two had begun to become closer.

Up until the first year of high school, Sakura had actually had a massive crush on the handsome jerk. Of course she hadn't been the only one. But as they had a mutual best friend, one very boisterous Naruto Uzumaki, they both saw a lot more of each other, and Sakura began to see the Uchiha for what he was.

A self-assured, ill-natured, pompous, overly angsty jerk…who just happened to be really good looking.

But underneath all that, lay a kinder side; a teasing friend who was loyal through and through. And that was the Sasuke she had fallen in love with.

So that was why when he had coughed the word stalker into his cup, she had blushed. And then she began laughing heartily, because what else could she do in this situation. And Sasuke's mouth did something completely unexpected.

It smiled; not smirked, but a full blown actual smile spread across his face transforming it into something altogether too beautiful. And Sakura forgot about her research, just for a little bit.

* * *

Sakura was lost to the world. Her nose buried in the pages of a particularly daunting volume title "Molecular Biology of the Cell". Her hair was loose, soft tufts of pink falling gently on her shoulders and into her face. Her face was furrowed in concentration, the lines in her brow deepening with each successive passage as she tried to unlock the untold wonders of the cell.

An image of wide frightened eyes, tiny fingers reaching for hers behind a wall of glass. A child in a hospital gown; her emaciated form trembling and her smile wide as Sakura spoke to her in light tones.

''_Ami, how are you today?" Sakura smiled, fighting the sadness._

"_I-I'm good, Miss Sakura!" Ami answered, trying her best to speak up past the barrier. The cheery greeting came out muffled, thin._

_Sakura turned to the chart by the door, her eyes darkening at the bright red sign over the door._

'_QUARANTINE'_

"_Miss Sakura?" came the soft question. _

_Sakura turned to the little girl, her brown hair mussed and her eyes tired. She placed her hand on the glass, and Ami returned the gesture._

"_Can you talk to me a little more? Please…"Ami asked shyly._

"_Of course Ami!" Sakura beamed, her heart breaking for the virus' little victim. "How about I tell you a story?"_

_And the smile that spread across the girl's face was more precious than words._

Sakura pushed tirelessly, absorbing every tidbit of information from the book to hopefully further her research, because Ami was not the only victim of the terrible disease. So many children were vulnerable, and there was no cure and so that was why she studied. Wrapped in a bubble of determination, she continued.

The magic was broken by a tiny pang of pain on her forehead.

With a small hiss that was more surprise than hurt, her tiny hands flew up to protect the sensitive area from further attack. Ready to chew out her assailant, she looked up and stopped short as she caught sight of a tall form, clad in a dark blue button down and black dress pants.

Sasuke was half bent towards her, his long fingers still extended a few inches away from her forehead.

"W-what was that for?!"She whispered harshly, her face heating up with embarrassment.

"You're getting wrinkles." He replied blithely, as if he had been doing her a favor.

She groaned slightly, her concentration broken. "I need to study."

He remained silent. He knew something was bothering her. By nature, Sakura Haruno was a hard worker. But this…she had been in this stuffy library for the past twelve hours, only stopping to eat once in a while. There were no midterms coming up for another few weeks, so something else was going on.

Before she could ignore him and go back to her book, he reached over and slammed it shut. The sound echoing in the hall and he glared at one student who had dared to shush him.

The student shrank away from him, hiding his face in the pages of _"The History of the Potato."_

Sakura glared up at him, her pretty mouth downturned. "What are you doing?"

Wordlessly, he grabbed her slim wrist and pulled upwards. She barely had time to grab her bag and pull down her pleated skirt before she was dragged forcibly outside of the library by a very quiet Uchiha. When they had gone far enough, he stopped and shoved his hands into his pockets.

He turned towards the wide windows of the hall, seemingly admiring the fine craftsmanship of the stone arches and Latin engravings.

Sakura looked at him incredulously, trying desperately to catch a hold of her back pack, the strap slipping off her shoulder as she held onto the giant textbook.

"Wha-"

"Let's get a latté." He interrupted.

The thump echoed through the empty hall, startling a couple of starlings singing outside. He did not react as he looked at her fallen belongings, the heaviness of her sorrow weaving itself between them.

Sakura gaped, because she thought she had been hiding it so well.

And for some unfathomable reason, those stupid words of his were just what she needed. The tears welled up in her green, green eyes. She felt her heart plummet as she pictured little Ami, alone in the room. She was useless, unable to help. As she began sobbing, unintelligible explanations blubbered out; he patted her back a bit awkwardly.

He was at a loss when she buried her head on his shoulder, her trembling form leaning on his.

That day, Sasuke Uchiha discovered that Haruno Sakura was a messy crier.

And so as her sniffles abated, he tapped her forehead once more, catching her attention. She looked up surprised, and her cheeks flushed.

"You look better when you smile."

So she did.

* * *

The Spring Semester was almost at an end, the air abuzz with warmth and bees. While the other students counted the days for summer to arrive, he counted down the days for her to come back.

"Haven't seen Sakura around lately." Naruto noted airily as he walked alongside his taciturn best friend. His hands were behind his back, his orange t-shirt and jeans at odds with Sasuke's business casual attire.

"Maybe it's because you've been spending too much time lip locking with the Hyuuga."Sasuke replied bluntly.

Naruto reddened, spluttering. He pointed a finger at the dark haired youth.

"Y-you…what about you and Sakura, huh?!"

Sasuke's gaze seemed to darken at that, his mouth twisting into a grimace. "Shut up, Idiot."

Naruto leered at him. "So you haven't asked her out yet? Gaaawd you're such a wimp!"

It was too quick for him to notice, and so Naruto was unable to block the slap upside his head. "

"OWW! WHAT THE HELL?!"He cried, grabbing his blonde locks in pain.

"Shut up."

Naruto looked at his friend, noting that the subject was a very sensitive one. "Where is she anyway?"

"Research conference." Was the blunt reply.

"Woow! But she's only an undergrad!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hn."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud shout.

"Naruto! Sasuke!"

Sasuke stopped mid-stride. He knew that voice. He would recognize it anywhere. He turned towards the beginning of the University's expansive lawn, and sure enough, there she was. She was barreling down the steps, her pink hair trailing behind, her jeans smudged with grass stains and her eyes bright with happiness.

"We did it! A breakthrough!" She gasped as she reached them, still running.

The other students looked on in curiosity at the strange girl shouting across campus.

She ran to him first, her arms opened wide and a smile wide across her face.

Sasuke's breath left his lungs and he briefly wondered if Naruto had punched his solar plexus, because that was what it felt like at the moment. He looked down, pink hair tickling his chin, his arms caught in a vice-like embrace as her laughter danced in the air. Naruto's greeting was tuned out as he listened to her.

"W-We did it! The gene knockdown worked! The virus couldn't bypass the mechanism!" She looked up at Sasuke and Naruto as she explained excitedly, her every movement animated and beautiful, the happy tears springing at the corners of her eyes.

"We did it, Sasuke! I told you so!" She said smugly as she let go of him.

He acted impulsively, uncharacteristically spontaneous. It was a foray into the "wonderful word of things Sasuke Uchiha does not do" as she would later call it.

He kissed her.

In front of a grinning Naruto and a small crowd of annoying people.

But he didn't care because her hands came up to bury themselves in his hair, to trace the lines of his back. He didn't care because she reciprocated, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

"A-are you sure?" She asked a bit shyly as he handed her the giant panda bear. "You can get the basketball tickets!"

The sounds of the theme park surrounded them, and the awkward silence between the two was stifling and strange. Sasuke nearly sighed, because she was acting so differently; so much more reserved, not herself. He had seen her eyeing the damn bear wistfully, so why wouldn't she just take the thing?

He had feared this would happen. That making anything official might change the interesting and sometimes entertaining dynamic they had had in their prior friendship.

He looked at her holding the bear close, fidgeting with the pockets of her green sweater dress and biting her lip.

"Oi, stalker."He called her attention.

She turned red, her eyed glinting in slight anger at the name. "I am no-"

He stopped her with a sudden kiss, his lips coaxing hers to do the same. She smelled like a damn vanilla latte, but he couldn't say that he minded really. The bear fell to the ground as her hands came up to cradle his face, becoming more entangled in the kiss.

After that, the date was what it should have been.

Later in the evening, he sipped on his Americano amusedly as she began talking about transgenic mice and translating the research into clinical trials.

And when she asked if he had even paid attention, he simply replied that he was a business major.

* * *

He placed a trembling hand on the thick glass, reaching for the still form on the bed inside. He grit his teeth, as he felt utterly useless, powerless.

Pink hair was draped over horribly white, white sheets. Her chest moved up and down much too slowly, and each breath was a struggle. Tiny hands gripped the covers, and he could almost hear the muffled sobs through the thick glass wall. She was cradling a worn Panda bear to her, her face buried in its stomach.

The drip of the IV was annoyingly loud and he exhaled shakily. He caught sight of the red sign on her door.

'QUARANTINE'

It had been a freak accident they said. The sample had been let loose somehow; protocol had not been carefully followed. Sakura had been the next one to enter the lab after that, and so…

The University was currently under investigation for laboratory safety, his brother leading the court case.

But it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

She had lost her smile...there was no more bright green eyes or flushed cheeks. No more lectures on the importance of protein cascades and apoptosis. No more overly sweet lattes with ridiculously fluffy names.

No more kisses.

No more touch.

He could see her breaking; drowning in her inability to do anything anymore. Sakura was a creature of the light and action, she needed purpose.

"_Ami…passed away today. And I –I couldn't 't do anything Sasuke. I'm just stuck in here!"_

He needed purpose.

Naruto and the rest of them had come to visit, leaving keepsakes and well wishes, and for each one of them she smiled. But he saw through it…she was dead already even while still alive.

His hands curled into fists and he whirled quickly. He needed to hit something, fight…anything would have been better.

'_We did it! A breakthrough!'_

His eyes widened. Just maybe…if he could help with her research, continue it himself.

The next day, Sasuke surprised everyone by switching his major from Business to Biochemistry. It meant he would almost literally have to start all over, but despite questions on his mental stability, he kept with it.

* * *

"So the stereoisomer of Naproxen can actually cause liver failure…interesting."

Sakura nodded, her eyes shining with remembrance. She smoothed down her pink button down pajamas, preparing to give a speech. Her voice came out muffled through the glass.

"Yep! And there's other examples, like Thalidomide and some steroids. Even penicillin only works with one enantiomer because it targets certain receptors on the surface of the bacteria."

She tilted her head. "I knew you were smart, but to get this far in so short a time…"

Her voice rang with awe at his prowess and he smiled a bit smugly.

She humphed lightly, knowing that he was teasing her again. She tapped at the bottom of the glass, near his knee. On the sill rested a short cup of coffee…topped with the tiniest bit of whipped cream and crushed nuts.

"Cinnamon Dulce?"

He grimaced. "No. Just Vanilla."

She pouted slightly, swinging her legs off the edge of the bed like a child.

"Sasuke..."

"Hn." Was the reply as he went back to reading the text book.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

His head jerked up at that, eyes wide. Because she was smiling again…it was only a tiny one, but it was a start. And he placed his hand on the glass absently, his heart racing in anticipation.

And when her tiny fingers pressed the glass, right up against his own, he could swear he could feel her steady pulse and the warmth of her touch. And an answering smile graced his lips.

* * *

"So this is what you were talking about…the CD160 receptor is so complex. It's no wonder it took you so long to block the signal transduction." He remarked as he read the twenty page publication on their research. The words finally made sense, and he was just beginning to discover the depth of details in cellular biology.

"Mmhmm…"Sakura hummed quietly, reading her cheesy romance novel, one shoulder pressed against the glass. Sasuke's eyes tightened as he noted that she had grown thinner, her hair was lank and her eyes tired.

She was particularly quiet today, and for some reason, it really troubled him. He wistfully wished for the days when she would talk on and on about her work, her personal problems…it didn't matter what really.

All those times he had called her annoying, he would take them back if it meant that she would get better. If it meant that she could live normally again, free and under the sun as she was meant to be.

"The heterotrimeric protein…does it have an intracellular activation site as well?" He asked, hoping to rouse her back to action.

She looked up, a slight smile across her face. "You're awfully chatty today."

He jolted, noting that there positions seemed to have reversed. Just when had that happened? Just when had he become the only part of her able to leave this god forsaken hospital?

She noticed the tension in his frame, his back taut and his jaw locked.

Her heart broke, because she couldn't touch him, or kiss away his worry. She couldn't tell him it would be okay, because that would be lying…she was dying. They both knew it, but still he held onto such false hope so strongly, that she feared destroying the purpose he had found would break him. So she kept entertaining his obsession with her research, surprised at his actual interest in the subject.

But then again, when you had motivation enough…it really was a wonderful feeling to work on these types of things.

She set down her novel, placing her hand on the glass.

"Sasuke…"

He nodded, fully attentive.

"Talk to me."

"About what."

"Anything really…hmm…how about your favorite latte?" She suggested.

He gaped, for the first time truly caught off guard. "What?"

"Come on, your favorite latté?" She smiled slyly, knowing he had a secret liking for the froofy drinks he had once looked down upon.

He smirked in that typical handsome jerkass way of his and answered calmly. His eye burned black fire as he looked at her, trailing up her pajama clad body and she felt herself flush as she hadn't in a long time. It was almost as if the intensity of his gaze could melt the very glass between them.

"The Cherry Blossom Tea Latte."

And then he went back to reading the publication, leaving a very red, very flustered Sakura to gape some more.

* * *

It had been the most beautiful smile yet…the largest and brightest one. Her cheeks had flushed so beautifully, and placed her forehead against the wall, right up against his own. Her tears ran down, leaving droplets on the glass as he repeated his earlier statement.

"I love you, Sakura Haruno."

It was the smile he had been waiting for.

The IV drip continued. His frustration palpable in the air as the shallow breathing and the beep of the EKG sounded.

Shortly after that, she had collapsed. The Quarantine alarm had sounded; he had been pushed out of the way to some distant part of the hospital. The physician had taken one look, shook his head and sounded the death knell.

Her parents…her friends…were all sobbing, sad…but they had given up hope a long time ago.

But he hadn't. He was working on the cure…she just needed to hold on a little longer. The thought consumed him as he pressed his hands against the glass, willing her to get up from the bed to place her own fingers against his.

"Sakura!" He called, uncharacteristically emotive and loud.

Green eyes opened blearily, to look around the room. They searched and searched until they found him.

And then she smiled softly, beautifully melancholy. She pushed herself from the bed, shaking and she began the painful trek towards the window, her tears falling, and her breath shallow.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted.

But his protests went ignored and even though he wanted nothing more than for her to rest, to get better, his hand did not leave the glass.

Softly, delicately she placed her hands one last time against his, and laid her forehead against it. He did the same, his teeth clenched and the tears pooling in his eyes. The pain was too much, there was a finality to this time that hadn't been there previously. But he would not miss a single moment, not a single smile.

And smile she did, crying and sniffling and coughing. But she still smiled. She mouthed her words, because her voice had grown too weak.

"Thank you, Sasuke…I love you."

They stayed like that for several moments, relishing the moment, and for Sasuke, the memory of that last smile would always remain. The time spent with her, too precious to forget. And even though there was no touch, they had been connected. A lifetime of learning packed away into tiny moments of infinity with her.

And he did the only thing he could at that moment.

He smiled right on back.

* * *

He gripped the award in his hands, tightly as the applause resounded.

_"Nobel Prize for work in Biochemistry and finding cure for the _ virus"_

The memories of a precious girl with pink hair and bright green eyes flooded him as he realized he would not be here, if not for her. If not for her bright spirit and animated self, if not for her wonderfully insightful ideas and her happy smiles...if not for Sakura loving him...

He could almost hear the faintest echo, her cheery voice in his ear.

_" You look better when you smile." _

She echoed his words to her.

And the corners of his mouth lifted into the tiniest of grins, for her sake.

**Fin**


End file.
